Seismic CEO Rich Mahoney will discuss wearable robotics at Disrupt SF

On the face of it, Seismic is addressing a big problem with a familiar approach. The San Francisco-based startup develops wearable suits designed to aid movement for people with mobility issues. The company hopes to one day make its product available for all users, but is beginning by targeting elderly users.

What sets Seismic apart from fellow Bay Area robotics startups Ekso and SuitX, however, is the company’s more subtle approach to its wearable tech. While those systems rely on large, pricey technology, Seismic’s offerings are constructed mostly from textiles, designed to be worn, undetected, beneath a standard articles of clothing.

The startup’s technology might not be the sort of miracle technology that can help paraplegic users walk, but the kind of increased mobility it promises has the potential to transform millions of lives.

Founder and CEO Rich Mahoney will join us at Disrupt to showcase the latest version of Seismic’s technology. The executive will also discuss the company’s journey, as a spinoff from SRI, Stanford’s nonprofit research institute, into a for-profit startup.

While at SRI, Mahoney helped develop the early stages of a number of key Bay Area robotics companies, including Abundant Robotics, Verb Surgical, Motobot, Redwood Robotics, Grabit and Robot Miner. The executive also served as the founding president of Silicon Valley Robotics.